Badlands Rock Concert
by Grumpydrawer
Summary: The Hex Girls go to a rock band contest in the badlands of Canada. Little do they the contest is being held by the landlord for a greater goal than simply getting money.
1. The Beginning

In a Jungle deep in the Amazon rainforest a Chinook helicopter was preparing to take off. Around the man-made clearing were tents and various jeeps and trucks. Moving around between all these vehicles were mercenaries, mostly armed with Chinese made weapons, although a Russian made weapon could be seen every now and then.

A mostly bald middle aged man with a short beard was walking towards the helicopter. On his back was a very polished Chinese assault rifle and in a scabbard on his left side was a Chinese sword. The man climbed into the helicopter and began to issue orders.

"Right men we shall be stopping at Mexico tonight. Till then we shall be in this Chinook. The cargo is our top priority." said the man as he tapped a crate which was tied down in the middle of the Chinook.

"Understood Jericho." replied the twelve mercenaries in the helicopter, including the pilots. Jericho then moved to sit down and said "Then let's bring the dear Dr his tablet." The Chinook then took off heading northwards. On the side of the helicopter was a word. Gigagen.

* * *

Three Weeks Later...

A dark black bus was heading through a desert in Alberta, Canada. It would not cause anyone to take notice of it if it wasn't for the symbol on the side of the bus. The symbol in question was a circle with the word Hex inside of it, for this bus was the Hex Girls's tour bus.

Inside the bus Thorn was tapping her foot to some music she was listening to. It was a song about a town called Arenas De Diablo which got destroyed by a witch. Sure the song was a little dark but it made her wonder what undiscovered powers she might have. Ever since the Witch's Ghost incident she had done research into magic and things associated with it, this lead her to believe that she might have some sort of powers. Of course she didn't have any results yet.

The song was just getting into it's chorus when Thorn heard someone stamp their foot. She looked to her right to see Dusk looking slightly annoyed.

"When will we get to the concert site? We have been driving for hours." complained Dusk. Thorn sighed, no matter how much time they spent being driven form concert to concert, it seemed Dusk would never get used to the long rides in the tour bus. She then took out her earphones and said "Would you shut the fuck up Dusk. Some of us have better things to do then complain." to Dusk in annoyance.

Luna then looked up from the book she was reading and added "Thorn's right Dusk. Why don't you go do something productive instead of complaining about something which is pointless and unchangeable."

Dusk crossed her arms and replied "Well unlike you I would rather be at the concert site instead of reading about fucking dinosaurs!" Thorn then looked over at Luna.

"You're reading about dinosaurs. Really Luna." said Thorn as she rolled her eyes. She never thought she would see Luna reading about dinosaurs.

Now it was Luna's turn to be annoyed.

"I'm only reading about it because it was highly recommended at that bookstore we stopped at on the way here. Besides it's quite dark." said Luna defensively.

"So I bought a book about vampires, Thorn bought one about witches and you got one about dinosaurs." said Dusk, barely containing her laughter.

"Besides how can a book about dinosaurs be dark?" asked Thorn, who was slightly curious. She doubted that Luna would have bought the book if it was not in some way dark. Luna then signed and handed Thorn the book.

"Just read a bit Thorn, you'll like it."

Thorn looked at the book's cover. It was a dull shade of brown with a picture of a fearsome looking Velociraptor on the front. She then read the title aloud. "A analysis of the Velociraptor. By Dr Alexsandr Magnason." Thorn then opened it to a random page and read a line. The Velociraptor would then cut it's victim's stomach open and eat it's prey's insides while it was still alive. Above it was a picture of a Velociraptor eating the insides of a Stegosaurs, next to it was the same picture but instead of a Stegosaurs there was a human.

"Woah!" said Thorn in surprise. "That was kinda dark, awesome!" she said with a smile.

"Told you." said Luna in satisfaction. Thorn then noticed that Dusk was reading over her shoulder.

"What do you think now Dusk?" ask Luna. Dusk looked at Luna and replied "It's so violent, sweet." Thorn exchanged a glance Luna, during which Luna rolled her eyes. Dusk was such a kind person to them yet hostile, bordering on violent, to everyone else. In a way it was quite sweet really, it showed that she trusted and felt safe with them. After all her aggressiveness is just a barrier to protect her from being hurt. Thorn assumed that Dusk had been bullied before she moved to Oakhaven, after all it did make sense. When Thorn thought about it she realised she didn't know much about Dusk. Which was surprising, sure she had only know Dusk since she was in High School (unlike Luna who she had known since pre-school). Dusk was one of her two best friends, yet she didn't even know her true name.

Thorn was snapped out of her current thoughts by Dusk's question. "So how was your night at the club before we left Oakhaven?"

"It was ok. Me and Thorn danced with a few people." said Luna unenthusiastically.

"Let me guess, they were all guys." replied Dusk. Luna nodded in confirmation. Luna was a lesbian, a fact she had only ever told Thorn and Dusk. Of course Thorn and Dusk had been ok with this, they were very accepting people.

"Plus they wouldn't have taken much notice of us if we weren't the Hex Girls." added Thorn. "Especially the ones who went to our high school." They had all been bullied in high school due to how they dressed and their interests. "They seem to think that because we've filled out we have forgotten how they treated us."

"So it was a normal night there then." said Dusk.

"Pretty much." replied Thorn.

* * *

Jasper Ridgeway was getting a bit tired of this drive. Sure he knew that alot of work needed to be to be done if you want to be a successful band manger, but even so he thought he deserved a break from driving the Hex Girls to the concert. He then looked down at the map on the dashboard to see if there was a suitable place to stop for lunch nearby. Sure enough there was a picnic area about fifteen minutes up the road. Jasper was about to annocence this to the girls when the radio spluttered to life. He was quite surprised by this, there hadn't been any signals for about an hour.

"And that was Electric Avenue listeners. An excellent song indeed." said a voice coming from the radio.

"A song the Dr actually likes." joked another voice.

"That's right Rick, but let's not be too hard on the Dr, he does pay us after all. Anyway Merc FM will be back after these adverts." said the first voice. That's a strange named for a radio station thought Jasper, he assumed that they were using Merc as an abbreviation for mercenary.

"And we are back listeners and boy do we have a treat for you." said the first voice.

"That's right Nick." said Rick. "We have three tracks from the Hex Girls, who if I may add, will be preforming at the Badlands Rock Concert. So here we go listeners, I give you Who Do Voodoo, I'm a Hex Girl and Earth Wind Fire and Air." Jasper then pressed the button which had all speakers written beneath it.

"Who do voodoo, we doo voodoo, who do voodoo, we do!" bursted from the speakers above the three musicians. Thorn smiled at this, Jasper was proving to be a better manager than she thought he would be. She then looked two the two girls who were like sister to her and asked "Shall we get some practise done sisters?"

"Sure." replied Luna as she put down her book.

"Hell yeah." replied Dusk, her anger at the long bus ride seemingly forgotten.

"Then let's hit it sisters." said Thorn. Shortly after the bus was filled with the sound of beautiful singing.

After about fifteen minutes the tour bus pulled over at a little layby at the side of the road. The only features of the layby were two picnic tables and a partially complete building with a sign saying Visitor Centre. The three female musicians and their manager walked out of the tour bus and headed towards the picnic table that was closest to the bus. After sharing out and eating the lunch Jasper had packed the day before the girls began talking about various subjects while Jasper was checking the route to the concert on a map.

"Jasper I doubt you will get lost, it is a straight road to the concert after all." said Luna to her manager. He took a few seconds to respond, having been concentrating on the map so hard.

"I'm trying to see if there is anything other than barren rock here. Daniel said this place was interesting but there is only three things labelled on here which aren't to do with rocks. A town called Drumheller, a house next to the concert site called Greenwich Manor and a small settlement over a ridge behind the concert site called with some strange named I can't pronounce." replied Jasper as he put the map of the table and pointed to the small settlement. It was labelled Наемник долине.

"Wait do you mean Daniel Illiwara?" asked Luna after she looked at the map.

"Of course. He's one of the best concert hosts according to many band managers." said Jasper as he gave one of his snorts. "If you ignore the mishaps at Vampire Rock."

"That wasn't his fault Jasper. It was Wildwi..." "Yes, yes I know. Please don't mention their name." said Jasper as he interupted Luna. Ever since the incident at Vampire Rock Jasper hadn't wanted to hear Wildwinds's name.

"So who lives in the manor?" asked Luna, trying to distract Jasper from his memories of how Wildwind betrayed him (or at least that's how Jasper put it).

"A young man called Dr Alexsandr Magnason. Depending on whom you ask of course." replied Jasper. Luna gasped at this.

"He's the guy who wrote the book I was reading." said Luna in surprise at this new knowledge.

"So what do you mean depending on who you ask Jasper." asked Thorn, who's interest had been caught due to the mention of Luna's book.

"Well that's what he signed the contract as according to Daniel. Yet according to Daniel the towns people have said his name was actually various other names. James, Ivan, Roderick, Henry, Richard to name a few." replied Jasper.

"Looks like people are making rumours about the guy." said Thorn in disapproval, she knew what it was like to be the victim of rumours.

"Of course they have, Daniel said he hasn't even meet the guy. Apparently few people have except his mercenaries." said Jasper.

"Isn't that a bit suspicious. A guy who rarely, if ever, leaves his house and has mercenaries working for him." said Luna.

"Maybe he just likes his privacy." said Thorn. "Someone who wrote a book like that can't be that bad a guy." It looked like Jasper was about to say something when Dusk said "Does anyone else hear that sound?" The four of them then went quiet, listening for the sound in question.

"It sounds like a helicopter." said Jasper after a few seconds.

"It is." said Thorn as she pointed towards the South-West, where a Chinook helicopter was flying steadily North. "It has a word on the side, but I can't make it out."

"I can Thorn. It says Gigagen." said Dusk.

"Gigagen is owned by Dr Alexsandr Magnason. The guy who owns the concert site...but Daniel said they didn't operate South of Drumheller." said Jasper in surprise at his realization.

"Maybe they just expanded their area of operation. Who cares." said Dusk with a shrug. Then they returned to talking about various subject again. The helicopter soon forgotten.

* * *

**Just a little note. Adverts is commonly used in Britain to mean advertisements (an abreveation basicly). I'm not sure if it is used outside the UK so I thought I shaould note this (even though it seems slightly obvious).**


	2. The Chinook's Arrival

**Well I must say thank you too all the people who ahve view this. I was quite suprised to have some Chinese and Brazilians reading it. Anyway on with the story.  
**

**Ah yes also I don't own the Hex Girls or any of the bands reference in this. They all belong to Warner Bros (although I thought that would be obvious). Jericho, Vladof and Dr Magnason belong to me though**

* * *

Jericho couldn't deny that he was interested in the cargo that he was bringing back to the Dr. It had to be something pretty important for him to send a team of five hundred men, twenty jeeps and four helicopters. He glanced over at the crate situated in the middle of the helicopter. Inside was a stone tablet with a length and height of around one metre and a width of around twenty centre metres, decorating the front were simple red lines in no organized pattern surrounding some symbols carved into the stone. Jericho stroked his short beard in thought, what was so important about the tablet. He was quickly snapped out of his thoughts by an announcement from the co-pilot.

"We shall be landing in around two minutes Jericho. Vladof is on the ground and ready to transport the cargo to the warehouse." said the co-pilot.

"Good." replied Jericho simply. Now he would be back to his usual duties of making sure the other mercenaries were kept under control, organizing the general security for the Dr's land, giving the daily reports of mercenary activity to the Dr...the list went on and on. Again Jericho's thoughts were interupted, this time by another mercenary.

"Hey Dr Magnason is having a concert hosted on the flatland near his home." said a merc was holding up a magazine for the others to see.

"Woah he actually is." "What's going through his head?" "Look Matt Marvellous, Wülfsmöøon, Girl-O-Saurus Rex and the Hex Girls will be there." "Looks like it will be a great show." were various responses said by the mercenaries.

"WHAT!" said Jericho standing up suddenly and silencing the mercenaries in the process. He walked over to the mercenary and grabbed the magazine, before reading out the description. "The Badlands Rock Concert will feature many bands such as Matt Marvellous, Wülfsmöøon, Girl-O-Saurus Rex and the Hex Girls. Hosted by Daniel Illiwara. Sponsored by Gigagen. Location Greenwich flatlands, Drumheller, Alberta." He then gave the merc back the magazine and sat down again, starting to stroke his beard again. Soon the conversation between the other mercenaries started again, all excited for the concert. Only one was not sharing their excitement, Jericho, who was pondering a simple question.

Why was the Dr having a concert on his land and what was the motive behind it?

* * *

Soon the Chinook was touching down next to a village which was very...ghetto. In fact ghetto didn't fit it. The village was made out of various pieces of...well everything, but that is not important right now. The area the Chinook had touched down in had several other helicopters there, mostly Apaches, along with a few wrecks.

Almost as soon as the helicopter touched down the doors opened and the mercenaries inside started carrying the crate out towards a waiting truck, which also had a Gigagen logo on the side. Jericho and walked out of the helicopter and towards a man shouting orders in Russian and English. The man stopped when he noticed Jericho walked over to greet him.

"Jericho it is good to see you comrade. I see you little trip was successful as always." said the man in a Russian accent.

"It's good to see you too Vladof." said Jericho with a smile. Vladof was a average sized male Siberian with a medium build, black hair and a short beard (think Tsar Nicholas II). He was the head of weaponry and munitions in Gigagen, odds were that almost any weapon a Gigagen mercenary had come from one of his suppliers in China or Russia. He wore fairly basic black body armour and had a beautifully polished AK47 on his back. In his hands was shining PPSH-41 with the wooden parts painted over in red. "Where did you get that gun?" he said as he motioned to the PPSH-41.

"Ah this was a gift from some Chinese comrades of mine. They came here a few days ago to drop off some weapons. Very high grade my comrade, I have set aside some for you to pick from." said Vladof was enthusiasm. Jericho laughed at this, no matter what Vladof was always cheerful.

"Thanks Vladof. Ill check them out later. I'm going to go report to the Dr now though." said Jericho to his Russian friend.

"Ah very well comrade. Meet me down at my house later, I'll show you the guns then." said Vladof as he walked back over to the truck, shouting orders as he went.

* * *

After a brief break for lunch the Hex Girls were back on course to the Badlands Rock Concert. They were sitting in communal part of the bus. Thorn was once again listening to some music while trying think up ideas for the concert. She sitting in arm chair, across from the sofa (or a coach as I believe the North Americans call it) where Dusk and Luna were sitting. Dusk had given up complaing about the journey and was trying in vain to get a cell phone signal and Luna was once again reading "A analysis of the Velociraptor".

"Fucking phone! How hard is it to get a signal." yelled Dusk in annoyance. Luna looked up and smirked at Dusk waving her hand around in the air in an attempt to find a signal.

"Practising hand gesturers for the concert Dusk." said Luna with a laugh at the comical site of Dusk trying to find a phone signal.

"Fuck you too Luna." said Dusk, not evening sparing Luna a glance. Thorn looked up at her sisters and smirked, this could be fun if Dusk was trying to call her she thought she was. Thorn pulled out her earphones and said.

"What's so important that the call can't wait Dusk?" said Thorn with a smirk. Luna caught onto what she was doing and said.

"Is it Karl Dusk?" said Luna with a smirk. Dusk seem to lose some focus on her attempt to find a signal at this.

"No...I'm trying to call...ummmmm."

"Can't wait half an hour to talk to your redneck boyfriend." said Thorn with a smirk. Dusk began to blush ever so slightly at this.

"Fuck off Thorn." said Dusk, although the rage she intended not coming through due to her embarrassment.

"Awww don't be angry Dusk. I'm sure you would love life in a trailer park." said Luna mockingly. Dusk clenched her fist at this comment.

"I never said I was calling Karl." said Dusk, her angry slowly building. Thorn then knew it wouldn't take much to enrage Dusk.

"How was that you greeted him the other day." said Thorn as she winked at Luna who took the hint.

"Oh Karl come here my hickish yokel." said Luna as she put her arms open and did a kissing face.

"Coming baby girl." said Thorn imitating Karl's southern accent. Dusk's whole face was glowing red by now.

"FUCK YOU!" yelled Dusk in rage as she threw a drumstick (Dusk always seemed to have a drumstick on her, no matter where she was) at Thorn, narrowly missing her head. Shortly after she threw her phone at Luna, which sailed far over it's target. Dusk then stormed out of the communal area of the bus and into her room, slaming the door in the process and leaving a giggling Thorn and Luna behind.

"We should really stop doing that." said Luna as her laughter died down.

"Yeah we should. But you know if I had a boyfriend or you had girlfriend she would be doing the same to us." said Thorn. She then giggled. "Dusk is kinda cute when she mad."

"Yeah she is." replied Luna as she stood up. "I better go find her phone, that'll calm her down a little bit." Thorn then went back to listening to music while Luna started searching for Dusk's phone.

* * *

Jericho's hand instinctively moved to his sword's hilt when he entered the grounds of Greenwich Manor. Surrounding the manor's grounds was a seven metre high wall a metre thick, the only way in was through an four metre tall opaque iron gate decorated with images of several demonic figures. Two beautifully statues of Velociraptors stood either side of the entrance, so lifelike they looked as if they would attack anyone who came to close. Inside the grounds were equally well painted statues of many mythological beasts, ranging from Hydra's to Kelpies. All of them facing the gate, all as lifelike as the two Velociraptors standing guard outside.

Jericho would never admit it, but the grounds of Greenwich Manor frightened him, even in the daylight. It was worse at night when you couldn't see the details of the stone, then the statues seemed like they really were alive, merely frozen in time. After he walked down the path to the manor itself, avoiding looking at the statues, he reached the door. On one side of the door was a statue of Hades with Cerberus at his side. On the other was a statue of Charon, his hand out stretched, almost as if he was inviting you in. The manor itself looked like a small Victorian manor. To anyone just visiting it would look old, almost as if it had always been there. But Jericho knew better, it was only four years old, and only the outside looked old.

He unlocked the door and walked through the lobby, ignoring the unusual decoration. He then walked over to a door on the far right of the room which was decorated with various symbols whose meaning was unknown to Jericho. Then he knocked, the sound echoing around the room. After a few seconds a monotone voice said

"Come in Jericho." Jericho then pushed the door open and entered the room. The walls of the room were covered by wooden panelling, however it could not be seen on three which were completely covered by bookcases, filled with books in many different languages and of varying age. The wall to his right had several rifles displayed on it, from countries all over Europe. A small table was against this wall, on it sat a simple pure black computer setup, quite plain compared to the room as a whole. The only window in the room was located on this wall however due to the dark brown blinds covering it only a few rays of light managed to break through, causing the room to be covered in darkness.

In the middle of the room was a plain wooden desk covered in papers, files and books. An old oil lamp sat on the far left of it, currently extinguished and not omitting any light. A large dark brown arm chair was sat behind the desk with a figure in it. However due to the light none of the details of the figure could be seen.

"Welcome back Jericho. I missssssed you." the figure said with a peculiar emphasis on the s in missed.

"As did I Dr Magnason. I assume you want the report of how the mission went?" said Jericho in a very military like manor.

"Yesss that would be expected of you. Merely a basssssic over view though, don't bother with the detailssssss." said Dr Magnason in his monotone voice.

"The mission was a success. We acquired the tablet with no resistance or casualties. It is currently being stored in the warehouse as we speak." said Jericho.

"Ah perfect, good work." said Dr Magnason. Then with a hint of concern in his voice he said "Ssssomething sssseemsssss to be troubling you Jericho." Jericho was slightly surprised by this, it was unlike the commander to show emotion.

"I'm just wondering what's so important about this tablet. Why devote so many resources to it's recovery." asked Jericho.

"I ssssuppossssse I could tell you, but you wouldn't believe me. Anyway it issss ussseeelesssss currently." said Dr Magnason. "Jericho ssssee those piecessss of sssstone on my desk, the onessssss which look like a fang and jaw." Jericho nodded. "Pick them up and put them near each other. Jericho did as he asked. Suddenly the two pieces of stone flew towards each other and connected before dropping onto the table.

"What is that?" said Jericho in surprise. He didn't believe in the supernatural, but he couldn't deny that what just occurred wasn't natural. The Dr then chuckled for a few seconds before speaking.

"It issss two piecesssss of the key. However it is missssssing the third piece, the right fang. Without it the tablet is ussssselessssss, merely a ssssstone. However with the completed key it will grant us a great gift."

"Us?" asked Jericho in confusion.

"Yessssss us. You, me, Vladof and Ssssharpsssshot. Without you three I would not have gained the piecessss of the key and the tablet in the firssssst place." said Dr Magnason in satisfaction.

"What is the gift?" asked Jericho, his curiosity overwhelming him.

"All in good time my loyal mercenary. Firssssst we have a more urgent tassssssk, the reparation of my body. To rid myssself of thissss annoying ssspeak impediment. Although there is a slight problem in the way of that aswell." said Dr Magnason. Then an almost pure white hand moved into the light, completely normal except for it's lack of a pinky finger. Hanging from it's hand was a necklace, the main feature of the necklace was a pentagram with the point pointing upwards.

"What issssss thisssss sssssymbol Jericho?" asked Dr Magnason.

"I'm not sure Dr." said Jericho in reply.

"Precissssssely. It isssss one of the main ssssymbolssss of Wicca." said the Dr. "Here liesssss the problem." He then withdrew his hand, causing it to disappear into darkness once again. "You remember I had Vladof retrieve that other tablet?" Jericho nodded. "That tablet would allow me to resssssstore my body. However to activate it you need a ssssspecific perssssson."

"A Wiccan." said Jericho.

"Precisssssely. However it is not that sssssimple. The persssson needsssssss to be a female Wiccan, not a problem in isssself. Yet it isssss ssssstill not that sssssimple. It needsssss to be a female Wiccan with a beautiful voice, yet alsssso talented at ssssssinging." said the Dr.

"So that's why you're having the concert. Clever." said Jericho in appreciation. The Dr really was more clever than he let on.

"Exactly. I had Sssssharpssssshot usssssse his expertissssse to find information on the mussssicianssss. It isssss in that file in front of you. Usssssse it to track down the mossssst likely people to be a Wiccan." said the Dr. Jericho then picked up the file and said.

"Very well Dr Magnason. I shall not fail you."


	3. The Hex Girls Arrive

**Well I must say thank you to everyone who is reading this. I appreciate it greatly. Ah yes hello to my few Estonia viewers, I'm still suprised by the reponse this is getting.**

* * *

After a long uneventful journey the Hex Girls's tour bus was finally within sight of the concert site. Luna was sleeping on the sofa, Dusk was asleep in her room and Thorn was looking out of the window. They had pasted through Drumheller not long ago and she had been amazed, never in her whole life had she seen that many dinosaur statues. There were a few tourist attractions she would consider going to, the World's Largest Dinosaur being one of them. She knew Luna would probably want to see it, she doubted Dusk would but that wouldn't stop her from dragging her to see it. Thorn briefly glanced down at her black and red notebook to check over some of her ideas for the concert, she assumed their special effects manager Rico would be able to pull her idea off. After all he used to make effects for movies.

If Thorn hadn't looked away from the window she would have seen the demonic form of Greenwich Manor and Jericho locking the front gate. She was disturbed from reviewing her ideas for the concert by Luna waking up.

"We nearly there yet Thorn?" asked Luna, her voice groggy from sleep.

"Almost Luna, we just pasted Drumheller." said Thorn.

"Good this trip has started to get tiring, even the drive to Vampire Rock didn't take too long." replied Luna as she moved herself so she was in a sitting position on the coach. "Dusk's still in her room?"

"Yeah. I checked on her, she's asleep." said Thorn as she began to examine her ideas for the concert.

"Got some good ideas for the concert?" questioned Luna as she reached for "A analysis of the Velociraptor."

"Hopefully, I just hope Rico can pull the idea I have for our new song off." said Thorn sounding a little unsure.

"Of course he will, remember he worked on movies." said Luna trying to reassure Thorn. "Your ideas are also excellent."

"Thanks Luna." said Thorn with a small smile. Suddenly they felt the bus turn to the right and come to a complete stop at the side of the road. Then Jasper poked his head through the pair of dark purple curtains which divided the bus between the Hex Girls personal space and the rest of the bus.

"We've arrived. Daniel waiting us outside." said Jasper.

"Finally." said Luna as she stood up and stretched. "I'll go wait up Dusk, you go ahead Thorn." She then walked into their room to wake up Dusk while Thorn followed Jasper out of the tour bus.

* * *

Thorn stepped off the bus and into the hot desert air, it was times like these that she was glad she usually wore a dress. She saw many tents and partially completed stands littering the landscape before her. Off to the far left between two tents she saw a man with a short beard and wearing black combat armour holding some sort of assault rifle. It slightly imitated her, having an armed man standing nearby.

"Jasper, Thorn welcome to the Badlands." said a friendly voice to her right. Thorn turned to her right and saw Daniel Illiwara.

"Hi Daniel." said Thorn with a smile.

"Hello Daniel. I'll let you and the girls talk, I need to go see how my trailer is." said Jasper as he hurried towards the congregation of trucks, vans and trailers to the right.

"I hope you're excited for the concert. This is one of the biggest I've hosted yet!" said Daniel proudly. "Although one of the most annoying aswell." he added a little glumly.

"Is it the armed men on the site?" asked Thorn, pretty sure of her answer.

"Of course it is. They are almost everywhere, sure they don't do anything but there presence is pretty threatening. That and having that demonic manor nearby." replied Daniel in slight annoyance and mild anger. Thorn could understand why Daniel was angered, if she was hosting a concert she wouldn't want armed mercenaries everywhere either. She was about to ask about the demonic manor when Daniel spoke again a cheerful voice.

"Ah Dusk and Luna it's good to see you two aswell." Thorn looked to her left and right to see Dusk and Luna flanking her, one either side.

"Hi." said Dusk and Luna as they flashed their fangs. Daniel laughed at this, his laughter soon being joined by another.

"So these are the Hex Girls I've heard so much about." said a man with an unusual hairstyle and a Swedish accent. When he noticed the Girls's confused expression he continued. "But where are my manners. I am Wulfric Von Rydingsvard, the lead singer of Wülfsmöøon."

"And werewolf if you go by his publicity claims." said Daniel jokingly.

"Of course it's merely a publicity thing, like your fangs in a way. If I was really a werewolf I wouldn't go declaring it to the world." Wulfric said.

"Nice to meet you Wulfric." said Thorn as she shook his hand. "I'm Thorn. This is Dusk and Luna." She motioned to each of her sisters as she said their names.

"Nice to meet you." said Luna as she also shook Wulfric's hand.

"Hi." said Dusk simply, not bothering to shake Wulfric's hand like her sisters. Although Wulfric didn't seem to notice this in his cheerfulness.

"I would talk more but I really must get back to my tour bus to sort out some things. It was a pleasure to meet you three." said Wulfric.

"It was good to meet you to Wulfric." said Thorn with a smile, she liked Wulfric. He seemed a little strange but he seemed pretty friendly and accepting.

"He was….unique." said Luna after Wulfric had left.

"That's one way to describe Wulfric." said Daniel. "I'll leave you three to explore the concert site, I need to get back to work organising some things. Nice seeing you three." said Daniel with a wave as he walked away.

"Nice seeing you too Daniel." said Thorn. She then turned to her sisters. "So I say let's go with Daniel's idea of exploring the site for a while then we go meet up with the crew."

"Good idea, it will be useful to know the layout of the site." said Luna.

"It will be better than being on the bus." said Dusk simply.

"Let's go then sisters." said Thorn. The three Hex Girls then walked into the vast grounds of the concert. Little did they know that they were being watched…..

* * *

The three sisters were walking through the vast maze of tents' trucks and stands which made up the concert site when Dusk found something which interested her and her sisters.

"Thorn, Luna that stand's sign over there says ghost tours." stated Dusk.

"So it does. Could be interesting." added Luna.

"Then let's go look then." said Thorn. The three girls then walked over to the stand. There were a few pictures lying on the table at the front of the stand, none of which interested Thorn. Behind there two mercenaries were having a conversation in a language Thorn couldn't understand but she presumed was Russian based on the previous mercenaries she had seen so far. One of them had neat brown hair and a short moustache. The other had shaggy black hair and a short goatee. Unlike the other he seemed to be quite well built and he had a gun lying next to him. The two mercs didn't notice them till Thorn gave a slight cough. The brown haired one them walked over to the front table a greeted the three girls in a friendly manner while the black hair one began to read a book titled "Почему коммунизм работает."

"Ah so more rockstars take an interest in our stand. I'm Dmitri and he's Ivan. So how can I help you three." said Dmitri with a strong Russian accent.

"We saw your sign said ghost tours and we naturally took an interest. I was hoping you could give us some details on the tours, although I assume they haven't started yet." asked Thorn kindly.

"Well the tour would be heading out at night of course. The tour would leave at 10:30 PM and go through the ghost town of Arenas de Diablo. A place where I first saw Dr Magnason get angry. Well yes they haven't started yet but we are going to take Wulfric Von Rydingsvard on a tour tomorrow night, a test run if you will, and I doubt that he would mind having you three there aswell if you wish." replied Dmitri.

"Not more." said Ivan in annoyance. Dmitri then turned to him and said.

"Давай Иван еще три не будет иметь значения. Особенно такие красивые барышни, как эти." (translation: Come on Ivan three more won't make a difference. Especially such beautiful young ladies as these.)

"Fine." said Ivan as he rolled his eyes, he then returned to reading his book.

"Well since Ivan now agrees what do you three think?" asked Dmitri.

"Of course." answered Thorn, she wasn't sure about Ivan but Dmitri seemed pretty friendly.

"Sure, it sounds interesting." answered Luna.

"Why not." answered Dusk.

"Then it's settled." said Thorn. "Hey Dmitri what so significant about that being the first time you saw Dr Magnason get angry?"

"Ummmm...Well you see the Dr doesn't like us talking about him." replied Dmitri hesitantly.

"Come on Dmitri. What harm could it do." said Thorn a she winked her eyebrows at him slightly seductively.

"Well I suppose it wouldn't make much difference, seeing as how he hasn't left his manor since the incident. Fine I'll tell you." said Dmitri, slightly uncomfortable with Thorn's actions. "You see Dr Magnason was planning on building a visitor centre there. It was underway and almost complete when the workers turned up the next day and it was in ruins. Now you see the Dr is usually quite neutral and barely ever shows emotion. But this one time when he was informed he blew it. He dispatched the Vipers, basically the best of the best, to locate what did it. They merely came back with one photo…which you will see on the tour."

"What was the incident?" asked Thorn. She was intrigued, this Dr Magnason sounded like an interesting guy.

"Ummm well." Dmitri shuffled his feet awkwardly. "I guess it wouldn't matter if I told you. Someone else would anyway. You see two and a half years ago an elderly man came to visit Dr Magnason. He offered him a job working with genetics, which the Dr has a degree in. At first the Dr was against the job, but this guy was quite persistent. He was from some company. In something or other."

"Ingen." said Ivan.

"Ah yes that is correct Ivan it was Ingen. Anyway this old guy must have told the Dr something we don't know because then all of a sudden he was all hyped up about it. He was gone for around nine months, orders regularly came as to instruct us on what to do till one day Jericho, our boss, received a phone call informing him that the Dr was injured and in hospital near Costa Rica. Jericho, Vladof and Sharpshot, the three highest ranking mercenaries among us, left immediately. They came back seven months later with the Dr, who had been in hospital that whole time, and dropped him off at his manor. No one other than those three have seen him since. They merely said that he had been terrible injured by a carnivore in a wildlife park." finished Dmitri.

"Woah." said Luna.

"Heavy." said Dusk.

"Poor guy." said Thorn with slight bit of concern. "Those must be pretty bad injuries if he doesn't even leave his home."

"Well that's his story now I wouldn't keep you. Just meet back here at ten tomorrow night for the tour." said Dmitri. The Girls said their goodbyes to Dmitri before heading to go see their crew. However on the way they heard voices. Being curious of who was speaking they decided to eavesdrop on the conversation.

* * *

Jericho found Sharpshot leaning against a truck behind several of the concert tents. He had short shaggy black hair, a lack of visible muscle and was clean shaven. Leaning against the truck next to him was a heavily modified black M99 sniper rifle, his most precious possession. He was wearing quite light combat armour and appeared to be expecting Jericho.

"Velcome back Jericho. I assume the abruf operation was successful?" greeted Sharpshot with a heavy German accent.

"Great to see you too, and of course it was. It is a simple task and there were no complications." replied Jericho. He then shoved a folder into Sharpshot's hands. "I have a task for you."

"Ah I remember this ordner. Now what is that aufgabe?" asked Sharpshot almost absent mildly.

"Your task is to find…." Jericho then leaned over and whispered something to Sharpshot, whose eyes widened in surprise.

"You need me to find what!" ask Sharpshot in surprise. "Why on Gottes grüner Erde do I need to locate a Wiccan? And why one with that requirement?" he then said regaining his laid back posture.

"Shhhh!" said Jericho urgently. "This is meant to be a secret you dumbass. All the Dr said was to find one with that requirement he didn't say why."

"Well you should have mentioned that first dann." said Sharpshot with a smirk. He then holstered his modified M99 sniper, or noir sterben (black death) as he called it, and began to walk away at a casual pace. "Ich werde the Vipers to get ready then. Ve shall begin at 6:30 PM." stated Sharpshot as he strolled away. Jericho merely shook his head, why Sharpshot was such a high rank he would never know. He then walked away in the opposite direction, being his surveillance of the concert site.

* * *

"They need to find a Wiccan." gasped Luna. "Thorn you're a Wiccan."

"So, it's not like they were referring to me specifically. Besides I doubt I have whatever requirement they are looking for."

"But Thorn you could be in danger." said Dusk with concern which wasn't normal for her. Thorn sighed.

"I appreciate your concern sister but we probably just misheard them. Let's just forget about it ok." said Thorn. "I'll start worrying about it only if it becomes a problem." This was a lie of course. Thorn wouldn't admit it but she was very concerned about this. Why would the Dr want a Wiccan? "Let's just go find the crew. We'll talk about this later if you two want too." Thorn then began walking again. Luna and Dusk followed after a few seconds. Little did they know they were being watched by a figure wearing light black combat armour and an equally black helmet which covered his entire face…


	4. The Search Begins

**Sorry for the wait on this chapter. It took longer than expected plus there were a few problems along the way. This was completed and meant to be posted on Friday however the internet was down when I wanted to post it. Then I discovered it hadn't saved the next day and had to retype it again. But enough excuses. **

**Ah yes before I begin I would like to recommend Dresner1817's two brillant fanfictions Dusk and Dawn (Dawn is still ongoing). They are well worth taking the time to read and I doubt you would be disappointed by them. **

**Anyway on with the story. **

* * *

Thorn and her two sisters were heading towards the area of the concert site they had been given for their crew, bus, Jasper's trailer, their equipment and anything else they had brought with them. They did briefly get lost and have to ask for directions from a mercenary however they were now definitely heading in the in right direction, or at least Thorn hoped they were. She wanted to get out of the desert heat and into their air conditioned tour bus. It hadn't been that bad till it had hit midday and the Sun was at it's peak, since then she had been sweating like hell and she felt on fire. She then heard the familiar voices of their stage crew not very far from them, and then they rounded the corner of the tent and reached their destination.

There were two relatively plain trucks parked to the edge of this small clearing in the sea that was the concert site. Next to them was Jasper's trailer and just next to that was their tour bus, Thorn rightly assumed it had been moved while they were exploring the site. Sitting on some camping chairs in front of the trucks was their stage crew. One of them noticed the three girls and stood up and walked over to greet them.

"Good to see you Thorn, Dusk and Luna. I assume the drive with Jasper wasn't that bad?" said a young man in a Norwegian accent. He was medium built man with his brown hair tied in a ponytail (think Ben Ravencroft).

"Nice to see you too Ivar." replied Thorn.

"The drive wasn't that bad, although it's too bad James was sick." added Luna.

"Ah yes it is a shame that he is sick, although he called to say he's on the recovery." said Ivar.

"Is all the equipment ready if we need it?" asked Thorn.

"Of course it is. I've learnt what happens if that doesn't happen." said Ivar hastily. Dusk laughed at this, Thorn merely smirked. A little while after they hired Ivar he had forgotten to get the equipment ready for one of their concerts, she had been having a really bad day that day and had snapped when she had been informed of this. She remembered that she had shouted at Ivar almost continuously for ten minutes. Ever since then Ivar had been very focused on his job and hadn't been caught slacking since.

"That's good then." replied Thorn. "C'mon sisters let's go get out of this desert heat." Thorn and Dusk then began to walk towards the tour bus.

"Ivar one of the lights in our bedroom has broken. Would you be able to fix it?" asked Luna.

"Of course I would be able to. Oh I almost forgot to give you this." said Ivar. He then produced a note from his locket and gave it to Luna. "A member of the band Wülfsmöøon came by and told me to give you three this. It's an invitation to a party they are having tonight."

"Thanks Ivar. I'll show this to Thorn and Dusk, no doubt they will want to go." said Luna. She then headed towards the tour bus to converse with her two sisters.

* * *

Meanwhile in Greenwich Manor Dr Magnason was thinking about his current situation. He had now tasked Jericho, who would no doubt task Sharpshot, with finding a female Wiccan with a beautiful voice who was also talented at singing. Despite what he assumed Jericho thought that would be easy compared to the task that would come after they had found the Wiccan. The hard task would be to get said Wiccans help.

He stroked his chin in thought at this. He was not a man to force people to do things, merely…..convince. He doubted the Wiccan would want money, they would probably be a rockstar who would have very little need for more money. He then glanced at the partially complete key on his desk, no they wouldn't want that as payment. Then he glanced at one his bookcases. Maybe some of his books would interest them, a possibility to consider despite his hatred of parting with even one of the books.

He then sighed and lifted his pale arm up in front his face. As long as the Dr could remember he had been quite pale, but this severity of paleness had only arisen after the incident. The Doctors in Costa Rica had said it was due to a few severed blood veins. Not a significant problem itself, it merely meant that his arm was more pale and slightly weakened. His other arm was the problem. The Dr then lowered right arm, then he raised his left arm. All of his left arm's skin was not visible, covered by various black arm bands and bandages, the hand at the end hidden beneath a black glove. If these various items had not been covering his arm he would have seen what was there, several scars and of varying size going from his shoulder to his palm of his hand. Yet they were merely minor injuries compared to his face.

Alexsandr Magnason had never cared what people thought of him. It had always not mattered. Even when the townspeople of Drumheller started making up various rumours about him. The most common ones were that he was a Satanist or a vampire, the latter of which amused him greatly. He had never cared till two years ago, when his face was scared. Of course scarred was putting it lightly. Horrifically maimed was far more descriptive. So horrifically that he covered his right side of his face almost all the time, only uncovering it to wash. He hadn't left his manor for a long period of time in around two and a half years. Of course to the knowledge of the townspeople and most of his mercenaries he hadn't left at all, which was incorrect. He went for a walk every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday night around his land. Although barely anyone knew this. He looked forward to Thursdays, that was when Vladof came to visit and talk with him. One of the few times he actually had interaction with fellow humans. He hated being so badly injured.

He then clenched his left fist.

He would be healed…..no matter what it took.

* * *

Luna walked into the communal area of the tour bus. Thorn was laying on the couch while Dusk was laying on the floor, both obviously enjoying being out of the heat of the desert. She walked up and put the note in front of Thorn's face.

"Looks who's invited us to a party. You interested." said Luna to Thorn. She could see that Thorn was reading it, the expression of the latter turning into smile.

"Wulfric has invited us to a party. Sure I'm interested." said Thorn enthusiastically. "How about you Dusk."

"Sounds like fun. Better than hanging around this bus." said Dusk as she stretched her arms above her head.

"Then it's settled." said Thorn. "We'll go to Wulfric's little party later tonight."

* * *

Later that day at 6:20 PM

* * *

Jackson walked through the door with a sign saying "High Command and Vipers Only. The room he walked through was quite plain. The walls were painted light beige, their only decorations were several plaques with various Chinese and Russian weaponry and maps depicting a varied amount of locations. They ranged from the Canadian and Siberian Arctic's to the South American Rainforests. In main feature of the room was a long table with nine seats either side and two at the head of the table, one of the two being a different design compared to the rest. That chair was for when Dr Magnason attended meetings, although that hadn't happened in a long time. Jackson had just finished his surveillance of the Hex Girls and was about to file a report when Sharpshot had called him and ordered him to report to the Vipers meeting room ASAP. He had compiled, disobeying orders didn't get you into the elitist unit after all. He then sat down in the chair on the right side of the table nearest the door, the only one unoccupied. All the other chairs were occupied by other men dressed the same as him. The group of eighteen men were the Vipers. Lead by Sharpshot they were the highest ranking mercenaries after Jericho, Vladof and Sharpshot. They were also the only mercenaries other than those three to be part of Gigagen. The Vipers were mainly used to gather intelligence or on operations when stealth, their expertise, was the easiest or necessary way to get things done.

A door at the far end of the room then opened and in walked Sharpshot with noir sterben strapped firmly to his back. All of the Vipers, Jackson included, then stood up from their seats.

"Thank you gentlemen. You may be sitzen." said Sharpshot, the Vipers complying with his command. Sharpshot then walked up to a blackboard behind the furthest two chairs, on it was a diagram.

"This ist diagram of die concert site. Dr Magnason has instructed Jericho with a aufgabe, vhich he unsurprising assigned zu me." said Sharpshot in a military like manner. He then continued "We are to find a female Wiccan with a with a beautiful voice who is also talented at singing. That was kein zweifel his reason for hosting the concert." a few of the Vipers nodded their heads in agreement with their leader. Jackson then remembered something, one of the Hex Girls had mentioned another being a Wiccan.

"Looks like I'm ahead of the game then Coomander Sharpshot. When I was doing surveillance on the Hex Girls today one mentioned another being a Wiccan." said Jackson in a mild American accent, interrupting what Sharpshot was about to say. His leader looked furious at first, but then his expression changed to approval.

"Vell done Jackson. Vell done indeed." said Sharpshot as he congratulated Jackson. "Vhen this briefing is complete you sind zu search their tour bus, no doubt they vill be at the party Wulfric Von Rydingsvard's ist having heute abend." The meeting then continued for the next hour, most of which was Sharpshot saying how their search would be conducted, missing no detail….to the annoyance of the Vipers.

* * *

Four Hours Later

* * *

Jackson was hiding the shadows next to the Hex Girls's tour bus. The Girls had left two hours ago but Jackson had waited longer till there was almost absolute darkness. He checked his watch, it was time.

He then looked up from his position and towards the bus. One of the windows at the back had been left over, convenient he thought. Jackson then began to run silently towards the windows, when he was within a metre of the bus he jumped up…straight through the window. Landing silently inside he immediately checked that the door was locked. It was amusingly, he would never understand why people even bother locking doors if they left windows open. He began to search the room, leaving nothing unturned. He was about to search the nearby bookcase when he heard someone unlocking the door. He immediately jumped out of the window silently cursing his luck, he had found nothing confirming that one of the Hex Girls was a Wiccan. Sharpshot would be most displeased.

If Jackson had been a few seconds later he would have been spotted by Ivar, who was going to fix the light. And if Ivar hadn't appeared Jackson would have found several books confirming his suspictions, Thorn's collection of books on Wicca.

* * *

Dr Alexsandr Magnason was about to head out for his weekly Wednesday walk. He was just reading through some old letters when he found several which interested him. They were from Ben Ravencroft, a fellow researcher of the supernatural. The Dr and Ben used to regularly exchange research with each other. Ben gave him research on almost anything he wanted in return for very simple information, his ancestor's history. The Dr had been happy to comply, the information he received from Ben had helped with his research of vampires and other mythical creatures greatly. Of course in return he had given him information on his ancestors, they seemed quite an interesting family of German descent. Although as went time by Ben almost solely wanted information on only one of his ancestors, a woman by the name of Sarah Ravencroft. The Dr had complied then shortly after he received his last letter from Ben Ravencroft. It mentioned something about a breakthrough, a book, Sarah Ravencroft and getting some mystery solving group's help. Then he had disappeared.

The letter was as follows.

_Dear Dr Alexsandr Magnason_

_I've had a breakthrough on the subject of Sarah Ravencroft. All I need is a book of her's which I plan to get with the help of a group who solves mysteries. Should be quite easy to get there help. _

_I'll write to you with the results soon. _

_From Ben Ravencroft_

Not that the Dr was surprised, fellow researchers and scientists commonly disappeared when they got a break through, many he knew had gone to somewhere called Kolymsky Heights and never been heard from again. Although it did bother him how the Mayor of the town he was from had told him when he rang to ask. He seemed like he knew what had happened but was trying to hide it, if he ever desperately wanted to find out the cause he could dispatch the Vipers to find it out. Although that was not important currently, it was time for his walk.

* * *

A little to the north of the concert site Wulfric's party was in full swing. People were laughing and chatting away. Several people were showing signs of being drunk, some even passed out on the ground. This scene was happening round a small quite crudely made campfire, a few camping chairs dotted around the immediate area. All the members of Wülfsmöøon save Wulfric were passed out on the ground, bottles littering the area near them. Wulfric was chatting with Matt Marvellous next to a radio which was tuned into Merc FM, although it could barely be heard above the noise of the surrounding people.

Near the edge of all this were Thorn, Dusk and Luna. Dusk was passed out from drinking alcohol while Thorn was very clearly drunk and using Luna's shoulder for support. Luna was the only one in a sober state, dreading the in evitable task of getting her sisters back to the tour bus.

* * *

Dr Magnason was standing around fifty metres away from the party. He had not been informed of this, if he had he probably wouldn't have bothered going for his walk. The sight before him disgusted him. People passed out or in a non-sober state and bottles littering the area before him. The irresponsibility of it all almost angered him. He then signed, he was starting to mentally age faster mentally than he was physically, he almost felt like going up and introducing himself…almost. Wait what, what was going through his head. Must be the lack of fresh air recently, yes that must be it.

Alexsandr Magnason then turned to the left and continued his walk in the confidence that he hadn't been noticed, but he had been noticed. By the very person he needed to heal him.

* * *

Thorn could tell she was drunk, she could barely stand up and was resorting to using Luna's shoulder for support for her slender body. She could tell that Dusk had passed out but she couldn't quite get a grip on much else. Then she saw something which caught her eye. In the distance she thought she saw a figure near the edge of the site of the party. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. The figure was gone. She assumed that she must be seeing things, it was probably just the alcohol in her body making her see things.

* * *

**Just a litte note. Kolymsky Heights is the name of a reasearch facility in Siberia in a book I am currently reading. Just to explain the little reference.**


	5. More tea Vladof?

**Here is chapter five. I promise that the next chapter will have much more of the Hex Girls, plus more hungover Thorn and Dusk. Ah yes thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

"More tea Vladof." asked a voice with a strong British accent, snapping Vladof from his concentration instantly. He looked up at Dr Alexsandr Magnason sitting in a chair across from him.

"No thank you Alexsandr." replied Vladof in his strong Russian accent.

"Very well then." said Dr Alexsandr Magnason as he poured himself some tea from a simply decorated teapot. After putting the teapot down he took a few sips of the tea. The two of them were sitting in two wooden chairs at either side of a table in the garden of Greenwich Manor. There were a couple cacti growing every now and then, but apart from that most of the garden's decorations were various statues of mythical creatures, much like the front of the manor. Although these were less varied, mostly depicting creatures from Greek myths. In the middle of the garden was a large circle with various symbols going round the edge of it. Engraved in the middle was something written in Latin, it was "Quidquid moritur. Nihil durat. Omnis vita habet finem." The table they were seated at was placed in the shadow of a statue of a hydra, causing the table and chairs to be in the shade and out of the desert sun's direct influence. On the table was an ornately carved chess set, several of the pieces already moved. Vladof then moved his white Rook forward, taking out a black Knight.

"Hmmmm interesssssssting. A good move indeed." said Dr Alexsandr Magnason. He then swiftly and quickly moved a black Bishop across the board, taking out the white Rook Vladof had moved previously. "But it could have been better."

"ебать!" said Vladof in frustration, compared to Alexsandr he was merely still a beginner. He stared at the board briefly then across at the young man before him, the man in question sipping his tea calmly while scanning the board. Alexsandr never failed to surprise him. He was rich, polite, charismatic, knowledgeable on a variety of things and quite beautiful even while taking in account his injuries. Yet instead of trying to find a love interest and live the high life he choose to live in a desert, alone and far away from anyone else with as much money as him. He then moved a Pawn forward one space putting it in position to take a Knight.

"Your move." said Vladof rather simply. He watched Alexsandr calmly finish his tea, placing the cup down without making any noise. He then stroked his chin as he examined the board.

"A good move Vladof, very inconvenient for me." said Dr Magnason as he moved a Pawn forward causing it to threaten Vladof's Bishop from before. "Your move."

Vladof wasn't sure what to do now. Move the Bishop or take the Knight. He was still pondering his thoughts about Alexsandr from before. Across from him he could see Alexsandr's one visible pure blue eye watching him, almost examining him. Alexsandr was dressed like he usually was. A black T-Shirt whose right sleeve went down to his elbow while the other sleeve ended at his shoulder, showing off his pale right arm. He was wearing his rather unique pair of trousers (or pants as the North Americans seem to call them). The left side side was like a normal pair of trousers while the right side went down around twenty millimetres before turning into what would most easily be described as a long skirt. It went down to around his shin. Below the shin was a long black boot which ended exactly where the skirt-part ended. On his other foot was a short black boot. The right side of his face was covered by a black featureless bandana, used to hide his facial injuries. What could be seen of his face was long black hair with a short fringe and one bang which dipped just below the fringe. The skin of his face was as pale as his arm, it had been for as long as Vladof could remember. Due to this his blue eye stood out in stark contrast to the rest of him, the only part which was a light colour.

"Vladof what is on your mind, you ssssseem troubled by ssssssomething." asked the Dr from across the table. This was his chance to ask the question that he had wanted to ask Alexsandr.

"I'm just wondering why you're here. Why do you live here in this desert when you could afford to live when you could easily afford to live somewhere nicer and with richer residents? Why do you isolate yourself from other people? Why haven't you tried to get in a relationship? And how did a fellow Siberian end up in London in England?" blurted out Vladof, very abnormal for him. "Sorry Alexsandr I did not mean for it to come out in such a tone." he apologised a few seconds later.

"It issssss fine Vladof. Thosssse are very good questionsssss." replied Dr Magnason. "I sssssupposssse they are reasssssonable questionsssss which you have the right to an ansssssswer for them. But if I anssssswer them then you must never relay the anssssswersssss to anyone. Underssssstood."

"Of course Alexsandr."

"Good. I ssshall begin then.

* * *

Luna yawned as she woke up on the couch of their tour bus. They had left Wulfric's party around 1:30 and she had fallen asleep on the couch after she had gone back to the bus with Thorn leaning on her shoulder and wobbling as she walked while dragging Dusk at the same time. Of course she only fell asleep 3:30 due to being kept up by Thorn throwing up in the bathroom.  
She got off the couch and walked out into the kitchen area of the bus. She got out there bowls and poured cereal into each, one bowl for each of them. Luna then placed these on a table on the other side of the room, and then she poured herself some orange juice and sat down to eat her breakfast. The party hadn't been that bad, she had talked to several bands they had meet at other various concerts. It would have been better if Dusk and Thorn hadn't got drunk though. Thorn wasn't that bad when she got drunk, she was very amusing at times. Dusk was the problem, she was dreading when Dusk would wake up.

Something had bothered Luna about the party. There had been a lack of mercenaries nearby. It was almost impossible to go anywhere in the concert site without seeing one of the many mercenaries. Yet last night they had almost completely vanished. It worried Luna, what if they had all been searching for Thorn.

She was snapped out of her train of thought when Thorn wobbled through the doorway and lent on the wall, clutching her head in her right hand. "Urrgh my head." Luna walked over to her sister.

"You ok Thorn." she said as she put her hand on her sister's back.

"No Urrgh. My head hurts like hell Luna." replied Thorn.

"Sit down for a while Thorn." said Luna as she helped Thorn over to the table. "I'll get you something to drink." As Luna went to get Thorn some water Thorn attempted to eat the cereal that had been put out for her, although due to her dizziness she couldn't quite see where the spoon was as she lifted it up which caused her to accidently poke herself in the eye, consequently dropping the spoon and creating a mess of cereal over the nearby area of the table. "Ow!" exclaimed Thorn as the incident happened. Luna couldn't not help laughing at the spectacle her sister had caused. She put the drink in front of Thorn.

"Maybe you should wait till your abit less dizzy before you eat that." said Luna between giggles. Thorn merely crossed her arms and glared at Luna. "Thanks for the advice." said Thorn sarcastically. "I'll remember that next time you get drunk." Luna merely smirked and replied "And when was the last time that happened. Oh wait it hasn't has it." Thorn merely scowled.

"Thorn how's Dusk? " asked Luna, now recovered from laughing at Thorn.

"How would I know I woke up on the bathroom floor." said Thorn, obviously still pissed off from Luna's teasing.

"I'll go check on her then." said Luna as she left the room. After walking through the communal area of the bus she reached the door to their bedroom and opened it an inch.  
"Dusk how are you?" asked Luna. Shortly after she said this a drum stick flew over her head.

"Fuck off Luna. Go away….urrgh it's too bright." slurred Dusk from inside the room. Luna began to open it when one of Dusk's boats went whizzing past her. "I said FUCK OFF Luna." said Dusk angrily. Luna shut the down quickly and began to walk back to tend to Thorn. She knew from experience that it was best to leave Dusk well along when she was hung over, especially if you didn't want to get many bruises. Dusk was like an angry Banshee when she was drunk unlike Thorn who just got clumsy and irritable. This was going to be a long day for her, a long day indeed.

* * *

Sharpshot was sitting in his home Mercenary Valley, north of Greenwich Flatlands. He was sitting in a plain wooden chair across from a large board on the wall. The board in question was around two metres long and one metre wide. Covering the board were images of the concert site and various musicians playing there, almost all of them had an X drawn over them. The only one which didn't was a picture of the Hex Girls. Lying around the floor of the room were various types of sniper rifle ammo and the occasional beer bottle.

Sharpshot began to look over the reports from the Viper's search last night. The only band who hadn't been confirmed to not have a Wiccan was the Hex Girls. Of course they hadn't been confirmed either due to Jackson having to cut the search short. He then looked over the notes he had on the Hex Girls, Sharpshot had no doubts about it. If there was a Wiccan on site it would be one of them, some of their songs and interviews of theirs were what made him come to this conclusion. They all seemed to support pro-environment activates and groups which, according to Sharpshot's limited knowledge of Wicca, was something Wicca belief supported. He just needed confirmation that one was a Wiccan and then he would report it to Dr Magnason.

He couldn't wait. Then he would no doubt gain more privileges and power in Gigagen, after all he would be doing the commander a great service. That would show that stuck up Jericho. He didn't care why the Dr needed to locate a Wiccan, as long he gained from it he didn't care what the Dr wanted done.

He had rethought his plan of attack. Jackson would go in to their tour bus once again however this time he would be accompanied by four other Vipers who had to be selected. From some intelligence he had acquired from another Viper he knew that the three girls would be on Dmitri and Ivan's ghost tour, leaving their bus unoccupied. This time they would succeed.

* * *

"I was born in a small settlement south of Cherlak in Siberia on the 7 November twenty three and roughly half years ago. My father Siberian and worked as a miner while my mother was English and stayed home. I cannot remember much about either of them. Sometime when I was three years old my father died in a mining accident. My mother died a week later due to committing suicide. Somehow they found my mother's parents all the way in England and sent me to their home in Somerset. They were for lack of a better word rich, stinking rich in fact. Of course they were quite old and died within a year of my arrival, of course I inherited all their wealth. That's why I have all this." said Dr Alexsandr Magnason as he motioned to the garden and general area of Greenwich Manor.  
"Although due to my young age I obviously did not have access to it. I was then sent to an orphanage in London. There my love for prehistoric and my dislike for people began. There I was beaten and generally abused quite often, mainly due to the fact I was Russian. One day after being beaten I sitting in my room and after I finished…crying…..I noticed that there was something on my bed. It was a small pocket handbook about prehistoric creatures. Along with it was a note which said 'Alexsandr I will get you out of there eventually. But for now here's a small gift. I hope you enjoy it. Robachev. I began reading the book and I was immediately engrossed in it. I never knew that there were once creatures that big and so strange. I read book over and over again. When I got back from school I would read it, at school I would read it, at night I would read it. That book was how I escaped that place. The creatures of the past amazed me and still do, somewhere in the Manor is that same book. I occasionally reference it."

"Who's Robachev?" asked Vladof. This guy seemed very important.

"He's the reason I am here now. Although we shall get to him later. At school was where my hatred of people began. I was bullied due to my accent and lack of knowledge of how to read and speak English language. Although though later in my school years, around the age of the age of twelve they ran out of things to bully me about because not only had my accent changed but I had also learnt how to speak English, German, French and Spanish fluently. Then around the age of fourteen I began to commonly wear black, I wouldn't have said I was Goth but it gave people a reason to bully me so they did. But I merely ignored them, their words and opinions were useless. I spent most of my spare time researching at libraries around London, absorbing knowledge on Paleontology, Biology, the Supernatural and History. I never knew much about current events, they did not interest me, only the past did. Three days after by sixteenth birthday a social worker came the orphanage with a sixty three old Russian. I was introduced to the Russian, he was going to adopt me. He said he was an old friend of my Grandparents, he was Robachev. Turns out Robachev was informed of my Grandparents death and the fact that I had been sent to an orphan age. He had applied to adopt me around that time but due to the fact that he had been formerly an associate of the British Communist Party. So I went with him out of London and into his manor near Aberdeen in Scotland. There I felt happy for the first time in years. I had a home….a family." said the Dr, a small tear going down his eye that he quickly wiped away.  
"There I celebrated Christmas for the first time and my actual birthday for the first time in years. Due to his high standing in Paleontology he was able to get me into one of the best universities in Edinburgh. There I got my degrees in Paleontology and Biology. I was also studying Physics and Ancient History but I got bored of studying and left. Then using the money I inherited from my Grandparents I bought several kilometres of land in the Badlands of Canada and commissioned Greenwich Manor to be built. Then I spent the rests of the year when I was nineteen going around the world to several digs with Robachev. My favourites were The Flaming Cliffs and Hells Creek. At the end of that year we parted ways in front of Greenwich Manor and haven't met in person since, but we will soon when my project in the north is complete. He will love it." The Dr then paused and looked at Vladof and said "That's my life story. Happy?" Vladof was speechless, he never knew the Dr had been through so much. The Dr merely smirked and stood up and began to walk towards the maze which was in the garden of Greenwich Manor. As he walked away he said  
"Let's continue the game later. You seem to need some time to think right now, as do I. When I return I shall talk about more recent events, like when I hired you Jericho and Sharpshot."


	6. Never go into the Long Grass

**Sorry this took so long. Bad internet and snow delayed it's posting. There are a couple of references to various things in this chapter, just a little forward notice. **

**Ah yes chapter 8 will be the ghost tour and it will only contain the Hex Girls, Dmitri and Ivan. Just to give you all something to look forward to.  
**

* * *

Dr Magnason was walking through his maze. It was probably one of the most expensive parts of the manors construction. The walls of the maze were three metres high and the inside walls were covered in words. None of the words were in English, all of it was in Russian. The words told various stories, some mythological some real and they were the only way to navigate the maze without memorising it. Of course one of the paths led to a statue of a Minotaur. What kind of a maze would it be without one?

The stories about leaders lead to the area of the maze containing a long stone table with eighteen seats on each side and one at the head of the table. Around the walls of the room were forty statues of various leaders which ranged from Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson and Karl Marx to Lenin and Genghis Khan. That was where he had held many meetings with a wide range of people. They ranged from the Chinese gun and ammunition maker 沙漠枪 (Desert Guns) members of the Canadian and American governments.

What was most important about the maze was it's centre. It had been prepared with the aim of it being a suitable location for anything spiritual. It had been designed with the purpose of being used to activate a certain tablet he had acquired however it would be now used to heal him using another tablet and a female Wiccan. Of course that all depended on if Sharpshot could find a Wiccan with the necessary requirements. Which he had no doubt Sharpshot would if there was one at the concert. He needed to be healed before Operation Hydra could enter its final stage.

It had been good to tell Vladof about his past. Out of his top three mercenaries Vladof was the one he was most friendly with and he was the one most worthy of his trust. Besides it had only been fair, Vladof had told him about his past before. He wasn't troubled by his past, it had happened and no it longer mattered. The present was far more important.

What troubled him was how to get the Wiccan to aid him. What if they refused?

* * *

Luna had finally managed to get Dusk up after twenty minutes of dodging various projectiles which ranged from drumsticks to books. The three girls were now sitting round the table after finishing their breakfast, or giving up trying to finish it in Thorns case.

"So what should we do today sisters." asked Luna when she had finished her orange juice.

"We could practise our new song." suggested Thorn before clutching her head. "Urrgh my head."

"You're not practising in that state Thorn. You'd barely be able to sing with that headache." said Luna in disagreement. "Besides I won't let you embarrass yourself like that."

"I can practise if I want to Luna. Besides you're not the boss of me." said Thorn moodily from across the table.

"Stop being such a bitch Thorn." said Dusk sitting next to Luna.

"Says the bitch." replied Thorn as she crossed her arms. At first remark Dusk threw a spoon at Thorn, luckily (or unluckily depending on what you, the reader, wanted to happen) it completely missed Thorn. Luna sighed in relief, the last thing she wanted was Thorn and Dusk fighting.

"Now that is settled may I make my suggestion." asked Luna.

"Sure." mumbled Thorn irritably.

"Why don't we try find out more about Gigagen and Dr Magnason. They are searching for you after all Thorn." said Luna.

"It's not like they are specifically searching for me. They merely said a female Wiccan, not Thorn." replied Thorn.

"Stop being a dumbass Thorn. How likely is it that there is another female Wiccan here with a beautiful voice whose talented at singing?" said Dusk.

"There could be another." defended Thorn.

"Sure there could be." said Luna rolling her eyes.

"It's not like I should be concerned about Gigagen anyway. It's merely the Dr who was searching for a female Wiccan. Gigagen have their own things to do." said Thorn.

"He owns Gigagen Thorn. How fucking stupid could you be." replied Dusk.

"Oh I'm the stupid one now. Says the girl who once spent an half the trip here searching for a phone which was right in front of her." Thorn spat back.

"Quit it you two." said Luna as she put an arm in front of Dusk in an attempt to prevent her from jumping at Thorn if she tried to. "So are we going to go find out more about Gigagen and Dr Magnason or not?"

"Obviously I want to." said Dusk.

"Fine." mumbled Thorn as she gave in.

"Then its settled." said Luna as she got up from the chair and walked over to the door leading to the front of the bus. "I'll be waiting outside." Dusk then got up from her chair and said

"C'mon lazy ass." she then dragged an unamused Thorn out of the bus.

* * *

Vladof was quite stunned, he never knew Alexsandr had been through something like that. His respect for him had grown drastically, Vladof knew that he would not have been able to handle things like the Alexsandr had. Instead of giving up Alexsandr had prospered and achieved so much. Vladof would have thought about it more if Dr Magnason had not returned.

"Looks like you have been thinking." stated Dr Magnason as he sat down across from Vladof.

"Of course I have Alexsandr. I never knew you had suffered like that." replied Vladof in respect. Alexsandr merely waved his comment away.

"It's in the passssssst and no longer mattersssssss Vladof. The presssssssent is what matters. Ssssspeaking of which let usssssss finish our game." said Alexsandr. "But before we begin there are two thingssss I wisssh to tell you which I learnt when I wasssssss injured ssssso horrifically."

"Go ahead Alexsandr." replied Vladof, awaiting his friend's words.

"One. You can never control nature and Two." Dr Magnason then smirked. "Never go into the long grassss."

* * *

Jackson walked into the modified trailer which was Sharpshot's home. The bottom floor was a normal trailer with an extension made of wooden planks on one end. The top floor was made of scrap metal and was connect by some stairs and a hatch in the trailer's roof. He headed straight for the stairs which led to the observation deck and planning room. Covering the walls were various sniper rifles on plaques and pictures of Sharpshot in the various places he had been sent over his mercenary carrier. Among them were the Amazon jungle, Antarctica, India, China, Mongolia, Libya, Egypt, Siberia and Australia. Occasionally there was an animal's skull, one of Sharpshot's many hunting trophies.

Jackson pushed open the hatch and entered the planning room or strategie zimmer as Sharpshot called it. He saw Sharpshot standing in the corner and stood up straight and said "Jackson reporting in Sharpshot." The German sniper then turned and nodded to Jackson and said

"Come hierher Jackson. I've reformed die plan of attack for heute abend and I need to go over sie vith you." Jackson walked over and stood next to Sharpshot who stood up from his chair. He then walked over to the board and tapped part of the map of the concert site.

"You shall vait here bis vier other Vipers arrive. Then vhen the Hex Girls leave you fünf shall enter the bus through vhatever vay you deem easiest. If you find evidence you shall take a picture of it vith this camera." Sharpshot then gave Jackson a small compact camera. "Vhen you shall return here vith or vithout the evidence. Do nicht fail me Jackson."

"Don't worry Sharpshot I won't fail this time." said Jackson to his commanding officer. Sharpshot merely nodded and handed him a bottle of beer, holding another in his other hand.

"Let us trinken to the imminent success of Operation Pythonissam Venari." The two mercenaries then put the bottles to their lips and drank.

* * *

"You have won yet again Alexsandr." said Vladof from across the table. Since they began the game they had discussed many different subjects of interest to them both. From guns to prehistoric creatures.

"Ah yesssssss I sssssssee I did. That wassssss the lawnmower tactic Vladof. Very effective indeed." said Dr Magnason. "I believe you have my posssssst with you?"

"Ah yes I do Alexsandr." Vladof then passed Dr Magnason several envelopes before he stood up. "I believe it's time I get going Alexsandr."

"Very well then Vladof." said Dr Magnason. "Goodbye then my friend."

"Goodbye Alexsandr." said Vladof who then took his leave. The Dr then began to read the sender of each envelope. Most of them were from various who professors, drs, company's or acquaintances he knew.

_Vincent Van Helsing_

_Robert Muldoon_

_Desert Guns_

_Roland Tembo_

_Dr. Tooksbury_

_Professor Svankmajer_

_Dael Industries_

_Dr Alan Grant_

_Rube Boy_

_Dr Ganglion_

The last two were of immediate interest to him. He opened Rube Boy's letter first.

_To Dr Magnason_

_You bloody bastard. You said that voodoo spell you gave me couldn't be beat. Well it bloody well could be beat and now me and the Ska-Tastics are in prison. Thanks a lot mate. _

_From Rube Boy_

_PS Fuck you_

Dr Magnason laughed quite abit after reading the letter. He had given Rube Boy the book three years ago in exchange for a piece of amber Rude Boy had acquired. He had assumed the spell couldn't be beaten but it appears it could indeed be beaten. Looks like he needed to brush up on his knowledge of music based magic.

_He then opened the envelope from Dr Ganglion._

_Dear Dr Magnason_

_Stage two of Operation Hydra is almost complete. As you know we had a slight issue involving a K1V4.7 but I assume you that it has been resolved without causing any international issues. However despite the mishap this was a great success. We now know that the lethal gene works, or at least that it works in K1V4.7's. I estimate that it will take 6 months and two weeks till completion, which means we are ahead of schedule._

_I assume you will visit to see our progress in person when you are healed?_

_From Dr Ganglion_

_PS May I request that more shrimp and fish is sent. Feedings seem to calm the piscivores._

That was good to know it had been resolved without incident. He didn't want 7.8 billon going to waste….nor did he want an international incident. The last thing Gigagen needed was unwanted publicity. Dr Ganglion was dependable and could be counted on to complete Site E. The fish would cost quite a bit, he already had a shipment of more meat and grasses heading north to Site C. But it would be worth the cost in the end. Operation Hydra would be completed.

His dream would become a reality.

* * *

Daniel was sitting at the table in his trailer browsing the web on his laptop. He was searching for information about a very specific thing, Gigagen and Dr Magnason. He wanted to know what Gigagen did and how Dr Magnason had so much money that he could easily throw it away on funding this concert yet not asking for any profits in return. His search for Gigagen brought up their website ".

The website was coloured shades of green and white. The green was used for tabs, Gigagen's logo and the title of each page while the white was the background of each page. The website was simple. The title at the top of the screen merely had Gigagen's logo followed by the slogans "We bring the past to the present." There were only five different sections, What Gigagen does, Who runs Gigagen, History of Gigagen, Applying for Funding and lastly How to Contact us. He clicked on what Gigagen does. _The page merely said Gigagen is the simplified form of Gigagenetics. We employ many scientists to research genetics and also enlist the service of qualified bodyguards when researching in dangerous locations. Gigagen is not affiliated with __沙漠__枪__or Vladofic Ассоциации оружия и транспортных средств Оформление in any way shape or form, it is just rumours that we are associated with such companies. Here at Gigagen we disapprove of mercenaries in any way shape or form. We also fund scientific research and historical restoration. To see if you apply for funding check the Applying for Funding section. Currently we are filming a movie about the Russian military in the past and present in the north of Canada and we are also prospecting for oil off the coast of Massachusetts. _

It was suspicious already. The website said it disapproved of mercenaries but he knew for a fact that Gigagen did hire and use mercenaries. Although he had never met Dr Magnason he doubted the Dr was interested in locating oil or filming a movie. Daniel then scrolled to the top of the screen and clicked on the Who runs Gigagen tab. It brought him to a page with the same layout as the last. Although this page was far simpler. It merely said

_Gigagen is owned by Dr Alexsandr Magnason who oversees everything Gigagen does. Nothing in Gigagen happens without the Dr's consent or knowledge. The Science division of Gigagen is run by Dr Karnabric while the exploratory division is run by Jericho von Drexel. This is not the same Jericho von Drexel as the one who attempted to rob the American Museum of Natural History ten years ago. Here at Gigagen we disapprove of mercenaries in any way shape or form and would never hire any._

That must be the same Jericho he had heard about, the one who commanded all of the mercenaries employed by Dr Magnason. From what Daniel had heard Jericho was extremely loyal to the Dr and obeyed all of his commands, not matter what they were. A mercenary had informed him that Jericho had returned yesterday and had said to report any security concerns to him. Interesting to think that this Jericho may have tried to rob the American Natural History Museum, very interesting. Daniel then clicked on the next tab, History of Gigagen.

_Gigagen was originally called Gigaex which stood for Gigaexploartion. Two and a half years ago Gigaex merged with what remained of Ingen, creating Gigagen._ Below was a small timeline of these events with a picture of Ingen and Gigaex's logos. There was nothing to interesting there, Ingen didn't strike him as important since he had never heard of it. He then clicked on the next tab, Applying for Funding.

_If you need funding for a project and our one of the following you are eligible to apply for funding from Gigagen. Dr Magnason believes the following types of projects are worth funding: _

_Paleontology Digs, Historical Restoration, Scientific Research (preferred fields genetics or biological research) and Protection of the Environment and/or Animals_

_To contact us for funding see the How to Contact us page._

Concerts weren't on the lists, just as he thought. It trouble Daniel greatly. Why would the Dr give him $700000 in funding and ask for no profits if it wasn't under the list of projects Gigagen funded. There had to be something to gain, some method to his madness. He then brought up Google images and searched Gigagen. Most of the images were of Gigagen's logo however one picture stood out.

The picture was of part of a fence in what looked like a blizzard. On the fence was a sign which said

_WARNING 10000 VOLTS! _

_Beyond this fence is property of Gigagen. Trespassers will be detained. Safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this fence._

Why would Gigagen need a 10000 volt fence in the Arctic of Canada if they were merely filming a movie? Something didn't add up. Daniel would have questioned this further if at that moment he hadn't been distracted by the sound of what he thought was a truck. He looked at of the window of his trailer and sure enough it was a truck, a convoy of trucks to be precise, all of which had Gigagen written on the side.

Daniel sighed, this was going to be a very stressful concert.

* * *

Luna was walking through the concert site with Thorn and Dusk, or rather wobbling in Thorn's case. Every now and then Thorn almost fell over, only being stopped from doing so by her two sisters.

They were heading back to their tour bus after a fruitless search for new information about Gigagen and Dr Magnason when Dusk suddenly stopped and said

"Do you two hear that noise." At this Luna and Thorn stopped and listened aswell. They could indeed hear a noise.

"It's coming from behind us" said Thorn. The three musicians then turned around and saw the source of the noise. A convoy was going up the road next to the concert site. It was mostly Ural-4320s guarding M939. The M939 had a variety of cargo on them. Some had large crates with the Gigagen logo on the side, some had tarps over what Luna assumed to be tanks by the shape the tarp made, seven of them were carrying Mi-24 gunship and the rest were carrying various building materials and vehicles.

After the convoy had passed Luna smirked and turned to Thorn

"Still unconcerned about Gigagen."


	7. One Viper, Two Viper, Three Viper Four

**Well before you begin I must say yet again thank you reading this. I'm still suprised by the amount of interest this is getting. Anyway soon it shall reach an interesting point in the story (around two chapters time). **

* * *

Thorn was shocked. She knew that Dr Magnason had mercenaries but she hadn't assumed there would be this many or so organized. On their faces was a look which sent a message loud and clear, try stop this convoy and it won't end well for you. She didn't know what the vehicles which were passing were but she recognized one thing. They weren't your average trucks, these were military vehicles.

She vaguely heard Luna sarcastically ask if you she was still unconcerned about Gigagen. Thorn then turned and replied to Luna's comment.

"Fine. I've been concerned about Gigagen and Dr Magnason since we heard Jericho and Sharpshot talking about searching for a Wiccan."

"So why have you been acting like you aren't concerned?" asked Luna with concern apparent in her voice.

"I didn't want to worry you two. Besides they are looking for me, not you. It's my problem not yours." replied Thorn with uneasiness.

"Something like this isn't just your problem Thorn. It's ours aswell." said Luna reassuringly.

"Besides if they try anything they will have to go through me." said Dusk as she raised a fist with a smirk. Thorn smiled at this.

"Thanks sisters, you're both right. We will deal with it together." said Thorn feeling a bit more reassured about the current situation.

"Of course we will." said Luna who looked up at the darkening sky. "Looks like we should be heading back to the tour bus to get ready for the Ghost Tour."

"Let's go then." said Thorn who began to walk forwards before she wobbled and fell over. Luckily Dusk caught her before she hit the ground.

"Looks like someone's still abit hungover." said Dusk with a smirk as she held Thorn. The latter of which crossed her arms and said "Hmphh." The three musicians then bursted into laughter.

* * *

Jericho was walking towards the warehouse where the various items the Dr sent his fellow mercenaries to retrieve were kept. It was a large grey windowless building with four large doors for vehicles to enter and unload their contents and one set of double doors for people to enter through when the Dr wanted something retrieved. To the left of the dirt road/path was a large building which seemed to have only a small door for people however that was quite incorrect. The entire front wall of the building could be lowered door to form a ramp allowing the two BMP-3s were stored, they were fully manned and ready at any time of the day, which Jericho personally thought was abit over the top. There was also a watch tower nearby with two snipers armed with OSV-96s and a BUR rocket launcher, which was to be used in emergences only because the Dr did not have permission from the Canadian government to have rocket launchers of any kind.

He finally reached the door where two guards were posted at, both armed with AK47s. They stood aside to let Jericho in once they recognized him, one going so far to open one of the doors.

Inside the warehouse was rows and rows of shelves with crates on them which were all marked with the logo of Gigagen or Gigaex in the case of some of the older crates. It was quite dark between the rows of shelves due to the light being right at the top of the warehouse and the fact that the shelves were around eight metres high. Occasionally there was a forklift or another piece of equipment which was used to move heavy objects. The inside of the ware house was eerily quiet, the only sound to be heard was Jericho's footsteps. He was here to find a item from long ago, something he stored here two years ago. The Dr had given Vladof, Sharpshot and himself a certain amount of space in the warehouse to store their own stuff, although they barely ever used it.

He then stopped at the row marked 165 and walked down it till he reached a box with a faded Gigaex logo on it. He opened the box and took out a book from inside and opened it. There was a picture of himself with Vladof, Sharpshot with Dr Magnason sitting in a chair in between them. He and the other two mercenaries had happy expressions while the Dr was neutral, like he usually was. Behind them was an Aztec Temple. It was taken after their first job with the Dr, taking him into a jungle to find and loot an Aztec Temple.

_Jericho was sitting at a table in a bar in Rio de Janeiro with Vladof and Sharpshot. They had just finished the work they had been contracted to do by the Brazilian government and were now relaxing after three months spent hunting Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) members. They had each been paid $30000 for their services and were all eager to spend it. He still didn't know much about Sharpshot despite working with him for the last three months but Vladof was a different story. The Russain had been friendly and dependable from the beginning, he also knew the pros and cons of every weapon they had come up against which they had used to their advantage. Overall he seemed to be a good guy to have around. He didn't trust Sharpshot though, sure he was dependable and was a great shot but he always seemed to be working on his own agenda. Then he saw a young man dressed completely in black had walked in the bar. He seemed out of place amongst the other occupants of the bar, the young man look around the bar before walking over to them. The young man then said_

_"Простите мои коллеги Сибирского но вы наемник по найму?" (Excuse me my fellow Siberian but are you a mercenary for hire?) Jericho saw Vladof almost choke on the drink he was drinking, he obviously hadn't expected someone who knew Russian to be there. _

_"Я. А почему ты спрашиваешь товарищ?" (I am. Why are you asking comrade?) asked Vladof. _

_"Мне нужна мужчинам, чтобы защитить меня на небольшой экспедиции я происходит. Ваши двумя помощниками здесь также нанять наемников?" (I need some men to protect me on a little expedition I'm going on. Are your two associates here also mercenaries for hire?) said the young man dressed in black, who Jericho just noticed that he had a British accent. _

_"Конечно, они были бы товарищ. Хотя немецкая сделал необходимость убедительно, что оно того стоит." (Of course they would be comrade. Although the German made need convincing that it is worth it.) replied Vladof. He then saw the young man turn to Sharpshot and say. _

_"Würde das Versprechen von Aztec Gold und 55.000 Dollar zu überzeugen, dass du mich auf einer Expedition anzuschließen?" (Would the promise of Aztec gold and fifty five thousand dollars convince you to join me on an expedition?). Jericho saw Sharpshot eyes light up at this. _

_"Aztec gold." he heard him mutter._

_"Yes as much as you can carry. I only wish to acquire a very simple item. The gold is useless to me." the young man said. _

_"Vell then I Vould be happy to join you." said Sharpshot in reply. The young man then turned to Jericho and said. _

_"Would you be up for hire for an expedition into to an Aztec Temple_ _Jericho von Drexel?" asked the man. Jericho was shocked and surprised, how did this young man know him. _

_"Maybe. But first who are you and how do you know me?" he asked the young man, who by this point had pulled up a chair. _

_"I'm Dr Alexsandr Magnason. I know you because you tried to rob the American Nation History Museum when I was attending a lecture on Velociraptors. An impressive attempt I must say but there was little strategy behind it. So would you be interested?" Dr Magnason asked. _

_"So there will definitely be Aztec gold in it for us?" asked Jericho. _

_"Of course there would be." replied Dr Magnason. _

_"Very well then Dr Magnason I'll join you but you better not cross us."_

Ever since that day he had been in Dr Magnason employ. The pay was excellent but he was always bothered by the Dr's secrecy. Usually the items they collect were either stored in the warehouse, sent to various professors and researchers the Dr knew or sent to the Dr's manor for his own personal research, yet the Dr never revealed what the items were or why they were worth sending out entire armies of mercenaries. It troubled Jericho slightly. He then went back to looking through the photo album, searching for one particular picture.

* * *

Luna was reading A analysis of the Velociraptor while she and Dusk were waiting for Thorn to be finished in the shower. She was just getting to a park which was strange. It was describing a Velociraptor attacking a human but it seemed almost to detailed, as if he was describing it if he had been there. Luna was about to ponder this more but was distracted by Dusk.

"Argghh why does it always take her so long to have a fucking shower." complained Dusk as she redid her pigtails for the fourth time.

"You know as well as I do that it always takes her ages. Just deal with it." replied Luna as she looked up from her book.

"Well it doesn't take us around twenty minutes to have a shower." countered Dusk.

"It's because unlike us she spends ages on her hair. She always has to have it perfect." said Luna. "You know how she is about it."

"Yeah she never lets anyone touch it." replied Dusk. At that moment Thorn walked into the room, drying her hair with a towel as she came in.

"Sorry I took so long sisters. I was" "Yeah yeah you were doing your fucking hair, we know." interupted Dusk. Thorn merely smiled lightly and looked at Luna.

"So you're both ready to go then?" inquired Thorn.

"We are. Now let's go before Dusk murders you." said Luna before she bursted into laughter along with Thorn.

* * *

Jackson was waiting with four other Vipers round the back of the Hex Girl's tour bus. At any moment they would see the Hex Girls leave, then they would strike and find out if one of them was a Wiccan. Just then Jackson saw the one dressed in purple leaving the tour bus, Luna if he was correct. She was then followed by the other two, Thorn and Dusk. When they were out of site Jackson gave the order to proceed.  
"Jetzt schlagen Vipers! Schnell und leise." The five men then ran out from the shadows and jumped through the open window of the Hex Girls's tour bus, one after the other. They immediately began searching as soon as they were inside, merely shadows as silent as the night from whence they came. After a minute or so on of them spoke.

"Jackson come here rápido." said the Spanish Viper. Jackson complied and walked over to the Viper who was standing next to a bookshelf, each shelf was a different colour. Dark Red, Dark Green and Dark Purple. The Viper pointed to several books on the bottom shelf, all of which were about Wicca.

"I believe I know who the Wicca is." said the Viper.

"Who?" asked Jackson as he took a picture of the books with a camera he had been given by Sharpshot.

"Well as you may have noticed the Hex Girls usually wear certain colours, the same colours as these shelves. So from the fact that the bottom shelf is red I work guess that Thorn is the one most likely to be a Wiccan because she is the one who wears red the most often." said the Spanish Viper.

"Excellent work." said Jackson. "Now let's get this information to Sharpshot." The five Vipers then left as silently as they had arrived.

* * *

Ten Minutes Later

* * *

Sharpshot was in the lobby of Greenwich Manor heading towards a door on the far right of the entrance, the only door which had light coming out from under it. He pushed open the door and walked in, stopping half a metre away from the door. It was a small simple room, it was only four metres by five metres and the walls were painted a pale beige. At the end of the room which was furthest from the door was a small tablet with several symbols carved into it. Sharpshot only recognized one, the Buddhist symbol for death. There were two lit candles on each side of the tablet, the only light sources in the room. In the front of the tablet was Dr Magnason, deep in meditation. Sharpshot merely gave a light cough. After a few minutes he received a reply.

"Sssssso you have newssssss to report to me Sssssssssharpssssssssshot." said Dr Magnason as he stood up and turned to him.

"Yes Dr Magnason. We have located a Wiccan with the particular traits you needed." said Sharpshot.

"Perfect. Pleasssssse take a ssssssseat outssssssside on the porch. We ssssshall disssssscusssssssss thissssss over ssssssome PG Tipssssss tea." replied the Dr, satisfaction obvious in his voice. "Here in a place of worship is no place to discuss this."

"As you wish. I'll be waiting." said Sharpshot as he left the room. It still surprised him that the Dr had taken up a religion. The Dr had always said such things were silly and pointless, yet ever since the Ingen incident he had changed his view on this. He never did find out why that event had changed the Dr's views, then again he didn't even know what the incident was.

* * *

Dr Magnason took a sip of his tea before he spoke, putting the cup down down silently.

"Sssssssso you may now begin your report." Sharpshot then put a folder down on the table in between them.

"Jackson and four other Vipers found several books about Wicca, there are photographs of them in the folder. We have strong evidence that the guitar player and main singer Thorn is a Wiccan." said Sharpshot. The Dr then stroked his chin before speaking again.

"So she has a beautiful voice?" asked the Dr.

"That would be for you to judge Dr Magnason." replied Sharpshot. The Dr took another sip of his tea as he thought about this, then an idea struck him.

"Three days." he said.

"I don't understand Dr Magnason."

"I shall ask them to come here in three days." The Dr then finished his tea and said

"That will give me two days to research the newly discovered Lythronax argestes and then a third to think of what to say to them and how to get them here."

"Ah a brilliant plan Dr Magnason. I assume the Vipers involved and I will receive a reward." said Sharpshot. The Dr chuckled, Sharpshot always was a greedy bastard.

"Of course you will be. You shall all receive a raise aswell. Now leave me to think Sharpshot." said Dr Magnason. Sharpshot merely stood up and left, obeying the order without question. The Dr then opened the folder and took out a picture of the Hex Girls, Thorn had a red circle drawn round her.

He didn't know if she had a beautiful voice but she certainly had the beauty down. It took the Dr a few minutes to process what had gone through his mind. Must be the tea. Yes that must be it.

* * *

**_The Lythronax argestes was actually only recently discovered (a few weeks ago). It's name means King of Gore and it is related to the T-Rex. Oh yes _****Pythonissam Venari means Witch Hunt in Latin, seemed an fitting name.  
**

**_Coming up next the Ghost Tour...which will have something far more interesting than ghosts.  
_**


End file.
